Richard Schmidt, Chairman
Lockhart
Richard Schmidt has served on Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors since 1994, and has been the board’s chairman since 2002.
Schmidt graduated from Lockhart High School and Texas Christian University, where he was a baseball scholarship recipient and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1968.
During Schmidt’s tenure as chairman, Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors ushered in a new era of advanced technology while continuing the tradition of outstanding, reliable service. Beginning in 2002 with the hiring of Mark Rose as general manager, Bluebonnet launched a modernization program that upgraded every aspect of its business. Those improvements include trucks, transformers, substations, new meters, sophisticated computer systems and buildings, including a state-of-the-art control center, five retail centers and two service centers.
Bluebonnet chose SAP, one of the world’s best customer and business information systems, to be the foundation of its technology platform. The co-op installed a geographic information system, an automated vehicle location system, an outage management system and advanced meters that are read remotely and provide timely, accurate billing information. It also installed microwave and fiber communications so these systems would work throughout its service area.
This investment in technology during Schmidt’s tenure as chairman has paid significant dividends for Bluebonnet’s members. Throughout the program, Bluebonnet maintained competitive electric rates and a financially healthy equity in the high 30s and low 40s.
Schmidt and his wife, Evelyn, live in Lockhart, where they owned and operated Kreuz Market until December 2010, when he sold the business to his son, Keith. They have another son, Leeman, who works in the technology industry in Austin.
Although retired, Schmidt can still be occasionally seen at “The Market,” as he calls it, eating barbecue and visiting with friends. He and Evelyn also enjoy fishing, bird hunting and traveling their RV.